54" - 16:9 - 1920 x 1080 - Surround - HDTV - 1080p - MPN: TCP54S1
Strengths: Neo PDP panel addresses, with good results, the few weaknesses plasma TVs have had. The picture is absolutely stunning once calibrated. Love the side SD card and HDMI inputs.
Weakness: - Uses slightly (less than 5%) more power than an equivalently sized LCD. Can get a tad warm (use it in a big room)
I'm another member of that group of near obsessive compulsive electronics shoppers. I spent 4 months researching and viewing TVs up close and personal before I finally pulled the trigger on this TV from an enormous online seller that I don't think advertises here, so I won't mention their name (rhymes with Paula Zahn).
I own 2 other flat screen televisions - a 3 year old 42" 1080p LCD Toshiba and a 2 year old 26" Samsung LCD in my bedroom. I am a regular reader though infrequent poster at AVS Forums. Spent years listening to plasma fans go on and on about superior features, but Ic ouldn't get past the well known downsides, especially the power consumption.
To cut to the chase, this set delivers. Power usage is in the 250W range (at peak). The screen is anti-relflective, even when off. The picture is absolutely stunning. SD content is watchable. I love the SD memory card slot on the side, along with an extra HDMI connection.
In the store, you may feel compelled to pursue the G10/G15 models from Panasonic. In a word, don't. The primary difference between the two is Viera cast, Panasonic's internet widget - it's a gimmick, and it's also available on their excellent DMP-BD60 Blu Ray player, which I got for free during a Panny promotion. That extra feature will set you back about $200 more. Not worth it.
A quick word about calibrating - Some helpful folks at AVS forums have posted some easy to input generic calibration settings. I just copied these and tweaked slightly. Am extremely happy with the results. Movie nights with this thing are awesome. Because of the deep blacks (no light leakage making the screen look indigo, like my otherwise excellent LCD), once you kill the lights in the house and plop down on the couch, you will feel like you're in your favorite local digital cinimaplex. Yes, it is that good.
I don't know what else I can add to the other reviews of this set other than to say that I wall mounted it (monoprice.com - $40 shipped for a premium wall mount), and my family and friends' mouths all hit the ground when they saw it. It is quite simply the best bang for the buck TV on the market as of Q3/Q4 2009.
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TopStrengths: Crisp and clear picture, what a pleasure to watch high def content on this TV.
Weakness: Doesn't have a swiveling stand, no internet connectivity.
I researched LCD and Plasma TVs for a while, before settling on this excellent 54 inch plasma. Watching at a distance of about 9 feet, HD content from my cable box looks amazing on this. None of the motion blur seen on LCDs. Excellent natural looking colors and black levels. The 'standard' and 'cinema' settings already look great, I haven't yet done a proper calibration but minimal adjustment of the contrast and color gave me an even more outstanding picture.
The only thing that's a possible negative is lack of ability to play streaming content directly (youtube, netflix etc.) - but then you would expect to pay several hundred dollars more for that.
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TopStrengths: Crisp,clear,stable picture.
Weakness: Smudges a little hard to clean.
For this price, it doesn't get any better than this plasma. Standard tv is quite good, High Defintion is beautiful. Better pic than the more expensive 54G10.
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TopHI, THANKS for the review, please tell me what sould we use to clean up the smudges?
Strengths: Solid, crisp picture. A thing of beauty for the price.
Weakness: A little difficult to clean smudges.
For this price, it doesn't get any better than this plasma. Standard tv is quite good, High defintion is beautiful. Better pic than the more expensive 54G10.
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Topthanks for your review, what do you use to clean up the smudges? thanks Sue
THE GOOD: Reproduces deep black levels and excellent shadow detail; solid color saturation; adequate connectivity with three HDMI and two component-video inputs; relatively efficient for a big-screen plasma. THE BAD: Less-accurate primary colors and color temperature; skimpy picture controls; uses more power than comparable LCDs THE BOTTOM LINE: Excellent picture quality for the money makes the...
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Display is Average according to 10 Flat Panel TV experts. -- "absolutely the best picture"-clutchart.com -- "excellent shadow detail"-reviews.cnet.com -- "Relatively accurate colors"-thebestplasmatv.com Read more to find expert opinions on more features like Sound, Tuning, Connectivity, etc.
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Testseek.com has collected 5 expert reviews for Panasonic TC-P54S1 and the average expert rating is 83 of 100. The average score reflects the expert community’s view on this product. Click below and use Testseek.com to see all ratings, product awards and conclusions.
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Panasonic TC-P54S1 - 54" VIERA High-definition 1080p...
Strengths: Great tv for the price, awesome picture
Weakness: None
This is hands down the best plasma on the market and this company has the best price with flawless delivery. The picture is beautiful and set up was so easy a 2 year old could do it. I really have nothing negative to say, it was heavy but it is 54 inches of pure beauty. Thanks buydig for a great experience.
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